This being my first "real" race, kinda hard to recall what all happened, but I'll give it a shot - any of the other 5's, feel free to embelish. I think we had about 8-9 guys in the field, a great turnout, especially out of a total of 50. The day started out a bit cool, windy and overcast, not like the sun, calm and warmth during the afternoon races . The first lap was not terribly fast, everyone seemed to be trying to get the feel of how a race should go. All of the Evo riders were looking good and staying in good position. I guess as to be expected in a Cat 5 race, there were some sketchy riders out there. At one point I felt something on my lower left thigh...I glanced down and noticed a front wheel spinning around and rubbing the shorts on my leg, if my legs were not already shaved, they would've been then!!! The guy was very apologetic, I grunted my acceptance. I also noticed how polite some of the guys were, always remembering to say, "passing on yer left" when starting an attack and signaling all their turns . Another thing I saw was guys standing to climb out of the saddle, but not adjusting their stroke to prevent the "backward slide", a couple of times almost back into my front wheel. Seriously, for a Cat 5 race (from what I've heard) it was pretty clean, notwithstanding the college kid who kept turning his head completely around so he could see where his teamate was. We didn't really have a stratagy, which I think was a big mistake. With so many guys from our team, we should have been attacking off the front repeatedly, but I don't remember us attacking at all, including myself. So from that standpoint, we were a bit to conservative. There weren't really any serious attacks till the third lap. On the climb after the first turn, there was a crash and the break was on. Chip, Brett, one of the Kliners, Mike Gnatek, and myself (maybe others, I couldn't tell) were able to get into the break. The break was petty big and held up for awhile, but the group slowed allowing some of the others to catch back on. Up to that point, all the guys still seemed to be feeling good and most of us were in the front. On the final straight heading back to the start/finish, the group really slowed - everyone resting up for the final lap. The deciding break came on the climb on the final lap, a group of about 13 got up to the top and away. Chip, myself, and Brett were among a few chasers. Chip, an NCVC guy and me were trying to work together to catch the break and we came tantalizingly close, but the NCVC guy couldn't hang on and Chip and I just didn't have enough left to catch them. By that time it was just Chip and I in the chase group, so we pacelined in, cursing our poor luck. Chip took 14th and I took 15th. I believe Kliner was 18 and Brett 21. Not a bad showing for a young (experience-wise) team. My thoughts, on team strategy we should have talked among ourselves and had a strategy before the race, even if only a strategy that one or 2 guys per lap would make an attack. As for personel strategy, Chip and I discussed this as we trudged the last miles alone, we both should have been at the front at the beginning of the climb so that we could have hung on as the attacks began - instead of having to blow up chasing up the climb just to keep contact. Any of us Evo guys in the race could have stayed in the break had we gotten into it to begin with. Anyway, that's my story...